Written answers
Thursday, 17 June 2021
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Departmental Funding
Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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411. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will list the specific funding allocated by his Department on research into the unique characteristics of biogenic methane; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32728/21]
Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Climate research remains a key priority for me in my role as Minister. This commitment was clearly evident in the AgClimatise Roadmap which I published in December 2020. The benefits of research and innovation are clear, a number of new mitigation options have emerged on the back of publically-funded research, for example, protected urea fertiliser to reduce nitrous oxide emissions.
The Department has also been very invested in the research space with regard to biogenic methane investing over €2m in various projects. At a national level, a significant research grant was awarded to a Teagasc coordinated project called Meth-Abate which is looking at novel technologies to reduce methane emissions.
| METH-ABATE | Development and validation of novel technologies to reduce methane emissions from pasture based Irish agricultural systems | €1,248,221.65 | Teagasc-GRG (NUIG, QUB, AFBI) |
|---|---|---|---|
I am also aware of the importance of engaging internationally on collaborative research projects, particularly from a resource efficiency perspective. Through the European Union ERA-NET funding process, the Department has committed funding to seven additional projects which have biogenic methane as a core theme. These projects are listed below:
| Acronym | Title | Total DAFM Grant Award to Irish participants | IE Lead and Collaborating Institutions | Partner Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MilKey | Decision support system for sustainable and GHG optimised milk production in key European areas | €230,658.04 | Teagasc (UCD) | DE, PL, EL, BE, FR, NO |
| GrassToGas | Grass To Gas: Strategies to mitigate GHG emissions from pasture based sheep systems | €286,518.20 | Teagasc (ICBF) | UK, FR, NZ, NO, TK, UY |
| MELS | Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems | €201,358.20 | Teagasc (UCC) | DK, PL, UK, NZ, FR, DE, CL |
| SeaSolutions | Seaweeds and seaweed-ingredients to reduce enteric methane emissions from pasture-based sheep, cattle and dairy cows | €300,843.90 | Teagasc (ITS) | NO, SE, DE, UK, CA |
| GHG-Manage | Managing and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration in different landscape mosaics | €236,133.75 | UCD (coordinator) (Teagasc) | DE, FR, PL, NL |
| METHLAB | Refining direct fed microbials (DFM) and silage inoculants for reduction of methane emissions from ruminants | €218,920.00 | Teagasc (coordinator) (UCC) | FR, NL, NZ, IT |
| RumenPredict | Predicting appropriate GHG mitigation strategies based on modelling variables that contribute to ruminant environmental impact | €244,418.07 | Teagasc (UCD, ICBF) | UK, FI, NZ, SE, NL, FR |
I remain confident that the outputs of this research will contribute to the overall goal of developing practical solutions that will enable Irish farmers reduce livestock methane emissions over the years ahead.
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